Condemned to Failure
He was ready to die.Standing, in front of a baying crowd of individuals, his life literally hung like a thread around his neck. The adamantium knotweed held taught as he…
Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Chains
I shuffle forward two paces. The chains on my wrists and ankles rattle with every movement. The air is heavy with emotion, mostly fear, desperation and anger, but all I…
Assistance Required
‘Another one Aput?’ Khanephet asked the small gold-plated scarab hovering before him. By way of an answer, the little canoptek beamed him the expected message notifying him of yet another…
Connection Severed
<Noospheric communication sub-routines compromised.><Reverting to unit sub-tethering.><Active cohort units in-field = 65…><62…><58…>Eros-Tybalt 71-Delta 324 was one of fifty-eight Skitarii constructs currently active in the battered warscape that constructs higher in…
Muted Existence
What would you be willing to risk to save a child?Gad Thaddeus Skark was presented with this question.As a factory worker in the middle-hive, he had a more comfortable life…
My Name is Roboute
My name is Roboute. I maintain the servitors that clean hab block 117. Like so many others, I am named for the Imperial Regent, son of the God-Emperor, but I…
Blessed by Holy Light
‘The worthy will come to know the word of the Father, and the blessed will see His holy light.’Ulsaman’s foot slipped, and his entire body tensed. Pain pulsed through his forearms…
In Two Minds
Psychic Whiplash was one name for it; trauma was the other. Inonar looked down at the pale, ashen face before her, contorted in a final horrible scream. She still held…
Plasteel Shaman
Men crawled the world below as ants atop their mound, picking clean the surface and near-depths to feed the hive and Imolier at its peak. This was the closest they…
The Billion Skulls of Inquisitor Corvin Fane
I look up at storm-wracked skies, but only because I no longer have a neck to turn my head away. Hot winds parch me, but when the blood rain falls…